Foot mallet



DENT

Jam. 6, i942.

FOOT MALLET Filed March l1, 194C Patented Jan. 6, 1942 d UNITED STATES? PATENT-1OFFI`CE f Y f f'jzizsasm l f u f Four MALLET l d -r TheodoreW.Duent, Hyattsville, d f Apii'atio- Mareuil, 1940, serial No. 323,442'1.L claims.l (cime-67) This invention relates to croquet, roque,y or other games involving the. propulsion `of a ball in adenite direction over the ground. q,

Gaines of the type mentioned involve the,Y use ofa mallet for striking the ball tov givec it the proper direction and momentum to reacha dell:` n-itedestination, such ras passing through"` a wicket, striking a peg, 'striking the ball of -anv opponent or in driving an opponents ball ou't of position. In so doing, the participants-,in theY game derive only such benefits as theexercise Aof walking produces, as well as the satisfaction of leading or out-pointing an opponent,

in the contest. Forr these reasons, the game commonly known as croquet generally loses itsl interest to the players after a gainev ortwo have been played.

It is the purpose of the present invention to` inject into the game of croquet or roquefeatures which will increase the, exercise of the games participants, require increased dexterity-v in playing the game as well as to increase the interest.

in the game by means of this improved method of play. Generally speaking, theinvention resides in the abandonment of thel ordinarily used mallet for playing the gameV andfsubstituting therefor propulsion of the, ball by kicking opera-r- It is at once apparent, therefore, that tions. considerable dexterity must necessarily be required to properly play the game, and the Ause of a foot mallet in ball propulsion adds to Vthe exercise attendant upon the play of the game. The invention resides in the foot attached mallet described and claimed hereinafter and illustrated in the drawing, wherein:`

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a foot mallet embodying the invention and illustrating the same as will appear when attached to a shoe,

Figure 2 is a perspective view, on a slightly enlarged scale, of the foot mallet detached from the shoe,

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional View taken 'through the adjustable supporting plate,

Figure 4 is a side elevation showing a modified vform of the invention, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a supporting staff which may be employed in playing the game to which the present device is related.

Referring now to the drawing, the foot mallet includes a head I0 which may be likened to the striking part of the ordinary hand mallet, rmly attached to the foot of the player so as to be brought into contact with the ball to propel the latter in a desired direction and with the proper ably engaged with the foot of the player. `In` order that the foot mallet may be adaptable feetvarying in size, the supporting plateis capable of extension or contraction; the said plate constituting the sections |II2 havingtheir in. ner ends superposed one upon the otherv andi having registering longitudinally disposed slots I3 to receive adjusting bolts I4. These plates.r are: preferably straight throughout their lengths, and may be made of a substantially rigid or, semi-v flexible material in order that the plate. as a, unit may conform generally to the shape of the. shoe sole. The plate I2 is bent upon itself neary its rear end to provide an upstandingv shoi'ildei' I5 for engagement with the forward face of theheelof the wearer, yIt will'be understood thatV in adjusting ther plate to the proper lengththeA foot lof the wearer will be placed upon the plate with the toe of his shoe engaged with the up"y right face I6 at thel rear end of the mallet head.v Il), whereupon the sections II-I2 are movedL apart until the upstanding shoulder I5 engages` y members IT with a buckle I8 and of suchlengtlr. as to pass over the forward part of the shoe of" the wearer preferably immediately in the rear of the tip portion or toe cap thereof. 'Ihe straps I'I are maintained in proper position with relation to the foot by a stay-strap I9 secured to the head I 0 at one end and looped around the strap I'I at its opposite end. This stay-strap may be adjustable also by means of the buckle 20.

The section l2 of the plate is also equipped with retaining straps to hold the rear part of the plate firmly upon the foot of the user. This retaining means includes straps 2I secured by rivets 22 to ears 23 extending outwardly and upwardly from the lateral edges of the plate I2 in advance of the upstanding rib I5, the said strap-s being equipped with a buckle 23 and positioned so as tobe capable of passing over the instep of the user. A rear retaining strap 24 has its sections also secured to thev upstanding ears23, and is equipped with a buckle 25 to permit of adjustments. The strap 24 pa-sses around the heel portion of the shoe and when tightened maintains the toev of the shoe in proper abutting contact with the head I0. If desired, the rear retaining strap 24 may be maintained in proper elevated position by means of ties 26 as shown.

A foot mallet constructed in this manner is capable of being readily adjusted to the size or style of shoe of the user, and when properly applied and tightened will be held rmly upon the bottom of the shoe. The mallet may be quickly and easily applied to or removed from the shoe of the user and its simplicity of construction and adjustment enables it to be readily applied and removed by children or others usually lacking in skill.

The foot mallet may also take another form as shown in Figure 4 of the drawing. 'I'his form includes the plate section Il having the mallet head IIJ attached thereto in any desired manner.

This plate is only sufficiently long to pass well back under the ball of the foot and is equipped with openings to permit of screws 28 being passed through the plate and embedded in the sole of the shoe. This form of the invention will be used only where the mallet is to form a permanent part of the shoe, and may be readily attached to an old shoe to be used solely for playing the game.

Players having their more dextrous `'foot equipped with a mallet as outlined in the foregoing will deliver to the ball by kicking operation the necessary power to reach an'objective. It is obvious that a greater degree of dexterity will be required of a mallet of this type than that of the hand mallet, which dexterity will include necessarily the degree of power delivered to the ball by this kicking action. The game, of course, will be played in the same manner as the ordinary game of croquet or roque, except that all propulsion of the lball will be carried out by means of the foot mallet. When it is desired to drive the ball of an opponent out of position, as is'frequently advisable in playing the game, the balls being in contact, the ball of the player is held firmly in position and against movement by means of a staff or holder 29 when impelling force is delivered to the ball by means of the foot mallet. This holder includes a stall as shown with a pocketed engaging head 29 conforming generally upon its lower surface to the shape of the ball. It will be understood that the stai of the holder 29 Will be held rmly in the hand and pressing downward upon the ball during the striking operation. When so held, a

vigorous kick delivered by the foot mallet will send the opponents ball away at a brisk rate Without disturbing the position of the held ball.

It may be found desirable in playing the game with a. foot mallet to modify the game in some respects. For instance, it may :be found desirable y to shorten or lengthen the distance between wickets, or between the wickets and the stakes, or it may be found advantageous to entirely change the wicket arrangement. The invention has been disclosed in connection with the games of croquet or roque, but it will be understood that the device may be used with equal facility and dexterity in other games where it is desired or required that a ball be projected over theA ground surface. Each player, -of course, will be equipped with a foot mallet, and the arrangement of the preferred embodiment of the device is such that one size or type of foot malletl may be readily adaptable to all sizes or styles of shoes. It will be understood, however, that the foregoing is explanatory of the general arrangement of the foot mallet and that variations in the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is:

1. A foot mallet, a pair of sections constituting a plate adapted to underlie the sole of a shoe with one end projecting beyond the toe of the shoe, said sections having alined longitudinally disposed slots, bolts engaged in said slots to hold the sections against relative movement, a shoulder on one of said sections to engage the shoe heel to limit the rearward movement of said plate, straps to hold said plate upon the shoe, and a mallet head secured to the forward projecting portion of said plate.

2. In a floot mallet, a pair of plate sections adapted to underlie the sole and heel of a shoe and adjustable longitudinally relative to each other, a mallet head secured to the forward end of one of said plates and adapted to engage with the toe of the shoe, a shoulder affixed to the other plate and projecting upwardly therefrom to abut the forward face of the shoe heel, and means for holding said plates rigidly together with said mallethead and said shoulder engaged with said shoe parts.

THEODORE W. DENT. 

